Tim Baldwin

Call: 2001

“Dedicated junior with a reputation for taking on challenging and legally complex social housing work. His practice typically concerns homelessness and allocation cases for tenants with mental health issues or specialist community care needs. He also impresses with his representation of tenants in unlawful eviction and disrepair claims.”
"Always calm and collected, and has a good rapport with clients. He is very good at unusual cases."
"He is very intelligent and experienced. If you want a technical opinion, you go to him."

Chambers UK Bar Guide 2018

Practice

Tim Baldwin is ranked in Chambers UK for social housing and is identified as a leading junior in four categories of law in the Legal 500 for social housing, court of protection and community care, civil liberties and human rights and planning

‘He sees through the static to isolate the legal issues in a public law case, and is extremely reliable and professional’

Planning

‘He can be relied upon to guide a judicial review claim from issue to hearing with calm effectiveness’

Social Housing

‘He instils confidence and takes time to listen to clients’ needs’

Tim is known for his fierce commitment to representing vulnerable, marginalised and disadvantaged clients. Past reviews have said of Tim that “He finds novel arguments in difficult cases to achieve results for the clients. This is what he’s good at – not just getting results, but getting the right outcome for his clients.” “He is tactically aware, thorough, hardworking and approachable.”,as“an expert in socialwelfare”, a“real asset”and “A talented barrister and valuable team member.” Tim is also known for his “calm demeanour, sound judgement and excellent written work” and for quick engagement with lay clients which puts them at ease and gives them confidence in his advice and representation.

Tim is highly regarded for his public and administrative law practice which includes:

Housing, community care and social welfare

Housing cases where the tenant has mental health issues and specialist community care needs or in complex cases involving welfare benefits

Complex cases concerning social care for adults or children

Representation of vulnerable tenants in local authority possession proceedings

Tenant claims against local authorities and landlords, especially for disrepair and unlawful eviction

Homelessness and allocation of social housing

Advising on the lawfulness and completeness of schemes for allocation of social housing

Regulatory enforcement against landlords

Asylum support and care provision for migrants

Advice and representation in cases involving persons who lack capacity in all jurisdictions

Court of Protection and DOLS

Considerable experience specialising in Court of Protection proceedings concerning health and welfare decisions, accommodation and DOLS issues for applicants and all respondents, including emergency applications and instruction by the OS.

Recent cases have concerned disputes over residence, contact and care together with DOLS and court authorisation of deprivation of liberty including damages claims for false imprisonment

Inquests for families of patients who have died in detention, particularly those subject to detention for psychiatric care, or with learning disability

Representation for prisoners and others detained by the state in addition to inquests concerning deaths in custody

Planning

Planning, particularly representing Gypsies and Travellers

Development, particular concerning provision of social and affordable housing

Planning Enforcement against private and social landlords

Environmental cases, disputes over land use, “fracking” and mineral extraction

Pollution, air quality and climate change

General administrative and public law

Claims for judicial review in the High Court and Upper Tribunal

Commercial judicial review and judicial review of regulatory bodies

Ombudsman cases

He has appeared in a number of reported cases in the Court of Appeal, High Court, Upper Tribunal, as well as significant inquests.

A selection of notable recent cases

UK Oil & Gas Investments Plc & Ors v Persons Unknown Who Are Protestors and others [2018] EWHC 2252 (Ch): One of the junior counsel led by Stephanie Harrison QC representing named Defendants. The transcript is available here. See here for press report in Drill and Drop, ITV news, BBC news and Channel 4.

London Borough of Islington v Dyer [2017] EWCA Civ 150: Case defining the requirements of a notice pursuant to s 128 Housing Act 1996 to terminate an introductory tenancy. A transcript is available and to learn more click here.

R (on the application of JG by his litigation friend the Official Solicitor) v Bristol City Council (Defendant) and Secretary of State for the Home Department (Interested Party) CO/1241/2016 (unreported) 11 August 2016: A successful judicial review challenge to an age assessment of an unaccompanied minor from abroad. To learn more click here.

R v Aitchison [2016] EWCA Crim 739: Represented the appellant in a successful appeal in the Court of Appeal quashing a sentence of Imprisonment for Public Protection (IPP) and substituting it for a hospital order with restriction post Vowles. The transcript of the judgment has been made available.

R (Hakima Alemi) v Westminster City Council [2015] EWHC 1765 (Admin): was led by Jan Luba QC for the Claimant where the Defendant council’s allocation scheme for social housing was declared unlawful and quashed in that it suspended the ability of a homeless family to bid for social housing. The transcript has been made available. This case has also been reported in Inside Housing, theBBC, the Independent, the Local Government Lawyer and in local news in West End Extra.

R (AM) v London Borough of Havering and London Borough of Tower Hamlets[2015] EWHC 1004 (Admin): was led by Jan Luba QC for the Claimant where the Defendant Councils’ actions were declared unlawful following successful judicial review application by a homeless family. It was ruled that the local authority responsible for assessing the needs of children in these cases should be the borough in which the family were actually living, and the local authority responsible for providing housing whilst an assessment of the children’s needs takes place, should be the authority that had placed them there. The transcript has been made available. This case has also been reported in Inside Housing, Evening Standard, and Family Law. The appeal by Havering and Tower Hamlets was dismissed by the Court of Appeal on 17 November 2015 as academic see Legal Action Magazine February 2016 page 45 for the report.

Buckinghamshire County Council (Appellant) v Kingston Upon Thames Royal London Borough Council (Respondent) & (1) SL (By her litigation friend the Official Solicitor) (2) National Society for Epilepsy (3) Secretary of State for Health (Interested Parties) [2011] EWCA Civ 457: was led by Stephen Knafler QC. The Court of Appeal held, on dismissing Buckinghamshire’s appeal, that a local authority, in moving a person whose care it had funded into supported housing in another local authority’s area following a needs assessment had been under no duty to consult the other local authority. The transcript has been made available.

Inquest touching on the death of Robert Edwards (Suffolk Coroner, 2013): For more information, please see the INQUEST press release.

Inquest touching on the death of Brian Quaintmere (Southwark Coroner, 2015): Critical narrative decision of failures concerning death while in psychiatric care.

Inquest touching on the death of Matthew Westgarth (Doncaster Coroner, 2016): Critical narrative decision in respect of NHS failures in discharge from psychiatric hospital without a care plan.

Inquest touching on the death of Brian Hull (Liverpool Coroner, 2016): Inquest of death in HMP Walton reported in Liverpool Echo, BBC and on failures identified in PPO report commented on in the Liverpool Echo.

Inquest touching on the death of Jerome Rogers (Croydon Coroner, 2017): Inquest of death of young man who took his own life after the visit of bailiff enforcing motoring tickets reported in the Guardian, Daily Mirror, Daily Mail and Evening Standard, together with a campaign to address suicide amongst young men and has led to a renewed campaign to change the law on bailiff powers and enforcement, see report of 14 March 2017 ‘Taking Control’ by StepChange Debt Charity.

Other activities

He has co-authored a number of articles in Landlord and Tenant Review and Legal Action on evictions and the Localism Act 2011. He co-authored the Housing Act 2004: A Practical Guide, 2005 and The Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003: A Special Bulletin. He contributed a chapter on Inquests in ‘Children’s Social Care Law’, authored by Stephen Knafler QC. (2018)

Tim is a monthly a contributor to the Garden Court SocialWelfare Lawwebsite.

Tim provides seminars and bespoke training to solicitors on the Mental Capacity Act 2005 including Deprivation of Liberty, Care Act 2014, mental health law, treatment in the NHS, community care, welfare benefits and equality, prison law and Judicial Review. Tim was an invited speaker at the following conferences with the Public Law Project “How to Make the Perfect Complaint 2012: Complaints and Remedies” and “Public Law & Judicial Review North 2012: Challenges to Justice” in Manchester and listen to the podcast here. In 2013 at “Public Law and the Tribunals” and read Tim’s conference paper here. In 2015, with Felicity Williams, at “Private Law for Public Law Practitioners” concerning Ombudsman remedies. In 2015 Tim gave a webinar master class on reform of Judicial Review.

Tim advised MIND as to amendments to the Bill leading to the Care Act 2014 on changes introduced in the House of Lords to section 117 of the Mental Health Act 1983 and on proposed safeguarding provisions when passing through Parliament.

Tim is also an elected member of the Housing Law Practitioners Association executive. Tim is also a member of the HLPA subcommittee created to assist tenants in the Grenfell Tower tragedy in 2017.

Tim is registered as a pupil supervisor with the Bar Council.

Tim is a case reviewer for the Bar Pro Bono Unit for welfare benefits.

Background

Before starting practice Tim was a research assistant in the Public Law Team at the Law Commission where he worked on reform of housing and local authority law. Also he worked as a part-time lecturer at King’s College London and the University of Westminster Law Schools. Tim worked as an administrator and researcher at the Public Law Project prior to his legal education and training. Prior to his legal career Tim trained and worked as a scientist specialising in molecular biology and brain development. Tim was a Hardwicke, Thomas More and Cassell scholar of Lincoln’s Inn.

Tim was born and brought up in Herefordshire with a love of grassroots football and is an avid supporter of Hereford United (now FC) and is convinced the Ronnie Radford goal is the greatest ever scored. He is also known for his strong commitment to teamwork.